Woodson Student & Group Recognition
This webpage will be updated on a quarterly basis. We are so excited to highlight all of our student achievements in one place!
If you see that a student recognition is missed, please email Mrs. Pugnetti at [email protected]
2024-2025
2nd Quarter Recognitions
Esports Rocket League Champions
Woodson's Esports Rocket League team not only won the Championship, but also did it with a perfect season. They went 44-0! Congrats to Connor Lane, Andrew Wong, Greysen Berg, and coaches Mike Kuykendall and Johnny Shu.
Shot Put School Record
Congratulations to Barrett Pullen who broke the 41 year old school record for Shot Put! Not only did he break this record in his first meet, he then broke it again with a massive, nationally ranked throw. As of December 16, 2024, Barrett was ranked #1 in Virginia and #8 in the Nation.
2024 Washington Commanders Fan of the Year
Congratulations to FCPS alumnus Dale McCord for being named the 2024 Washington Commanders Fan of the Year! Dale attended Mantua Elementary, Frost Middle School, and Woodson High School. He was part of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program and graduated in 2009.
According to the team announcement about his award, “Dale McCord has had Washington season tickets in his family since his grandpa first purchased them in 1981. He loves nothing more than tailgating and sharing his passion for the team with others. As a member of the deaf community, he strives to provide a more inclusive environment for Washington's fan base. In 2017, Dale was inducted into the Pro Football Ultimate Fan Association, becoming the first deaf member. Through this organization, he works to promote fellowship with all fan bases and support charitable organizations, like facilitating the inclusion of deaf and hard-of-hearing children at the Kids Tailgate Party held during Hall of Fame weekend. Dale has also served as a fan captain for the Commanders, working to provide closed captioning in the stadium and sign language interpreting during the National Anthem for the deaf and hard-of-hearing fans. Dale constantly spreads his love of the Commanders and has proven to be a quiet leader in promoting camaraderie with opposing teams, always accepting everyone with open arms.” Way to go, Dale! He received tickets to the 2025 Super Bowl and now has a chance to be named the National Fan of the Year.
1st Quarter Recognitions
National Merit Awardees 2024-2025
Semi-Finalists
Morgan Altier |
Chloe Choi |
Sean Cranford |
Elizabeth Doan |
Laehun Kim |
Stephen Labys |
Commended Scholars
William Brenningmeyer |
Royce Carroll |
Rylan Cave |
David Cheney |
Emma Cummings-Sulmistras |
Grace Degrandez-Mamani |
Taraneh Doust |
Lucas Ezana |
Derek Fisher |
Connor Geraghty |
Sophia Harris |
Richard He |
Jackson Healy |
Jibran Hutchins |
Sarah Hymans |
Jared Jessup |
Avery Kane |
Noah Kang |
Andrew Kim |
Isaac Kim |
Lemuel Kuo |
Parker Lau |
Matthew Lee |
Mia Monroe |
Andrew Nguyen |
Dylan Nguyen |
Mia Richmond |
Sonan Sahgal |
Holt Schechtel |
Preston Schmittou |
Max Schulman |
Samuel Schumer |
Benjamin Scribner |
Austin Song |
Nicolas Tong |
Joseph Tso |
Sailee Varde |
Jieming Zhang |
Brian Zheng |
Constituting America's 2024 We the Future Contest Winner
Congratulations to Woodson senior, Mia Ramos! She won the Best high School Short Film Award in Constituting America's 2024 We the Future Contest.
TIME's 2024 Kid of the Year!
Congratulations to Woodson Sophomore Heman Bekele for being named TIME's 2024 Kid of the Year!!!
Heman also had the opportunity to throw the first pitch at the Nationals baseball game!
Cav Kudos - September 6, 2024
Students receive the first Cav Kudos of the 2024-2025 school year! Thank you to the following students for spreading kindness around our school: Hiroko Rose, Samuel Umayam, Nolan Farris, Natalie Hancock, Anne Tembruell, Stephanie Luna, Arturo Munoz Ayala, Emmett Umila.
Faculty and Staff nominate students that have been seen doing an act of kindness, which is reflective of our school’s mission of creating a healthy environment of mutual respect, responsibility, equity, and inclusion.
DC Central Kitchen - Northernvirginiamag.com
Thank you to Woodson Junior Noah Hedrick for volunteering at DC Central Kitchen! What an incredible way to show your support and connect with the DMV community.
Cav Kudos - September 20, 2024
Thank you to the following students for spreading kindness around our school: Trevor Arganbright, Grace Brabble, Trinity Darden-Cropp, Jake Davila, Max Masick, Nicolas Mendoza Rosado, Connor O'Donnell, Emily Primrose, Duru Sert, Eleanor Warren
Cav Kudos - September 27, 2024
Thank you to the following students for spreading kindness around our school: Ben Wikes, Saad Alajmi, Greysen Berg, Nicholas Cook, Bryce Goltry, Ethan Truong, Keira Gwaltney, Sofie Ferrell, William Lunsford, Matthew Mikula, Brian Zheng, Nodirbek Sattarov, Molly Hawkins, Fabian Eid, William Jordan, Jackson Kuhlman, James Yap, Michelle Armstrong
Cav Kudos - October 11, 2024
Thank you to the following students for spreading kindness around our school: Abigail Kleinman, Sofia Davila Miranda, Hunter Dalton, Cole Hyer, Yazeed Mini, Alex Bean, Ashley Hoffman, Madeline Johnson, James Yap, Daniel Mogan, De'Andre Harris, Andrew Glenn, Rowan Kim, Ethan Nguyen, Santo Bongiolatti, Sophia Rogel Gudiel, Dylan Whitacre, and Ruby Johnston.
2024 Homecoming Court!
Madeline Johnson |
Aaron Roethlisberger |
Sonan Saghal |
Miya Kimura |
Luke Sun |
Leonardo Ha |
Kyle Murray |
Astrid Maslin |
Declan Weide |
Charlotte Wilmore |
Caroline Avera |
Elsa Curry |
Bridget Kerr |
Suah Choi |
Yusef Kheder |
Alex Murray |
Sagan Krezel |
Zara King |
Clive Song |
Faith Lee |
Riley Saunders |
Named Gold Distinction School by The College Board
The College Board announced that 17 FCPS high schools have been named to the Advanced Placement (AP) School Honor Roll. Schools can earn bronze, silver, gold, or platinum distinction.
Woodson has been named a Gold Distinction School!
Cav Kudos - November 8, 2024
Thank you to the following students for spreading kindness around our school:
Nina Samani |
Shane Camarao |
Marcos Castro |
Riley Deer |
Ava Colon |
Kathryn Austin |
Rue Carter |
Andrew Glenn |
Sasha Lefko |
Colin Kogon |
Jaden Nicholson |
Rowan Kim |
Nicholas Cook |
Faculty and Staff nominate students that have been seen doing an act of kindness, which is reflective of our school’s mission of creating a healthy environment of mutual respect, responsibility, equity, and inclusion.
Virginia Senior Honor Chorus
Five members of the choral program were selected to represent C.G. Woodson HS the Virginia Senior Honor Chorus. They are Sarah Hymans (Soprano 1), Charlotte Reymann (Alto 1), Serena Mancuso (Alto 2), Joaquin Najar (Tenor 2), and Brian Zheng (Bass 1). Congratulations also to Emily Hudders who was selected as first alternate for Soprano 2. Selected singers will travel to Norfolk, VA November 21 – 23 to participate with other selected singers across the state of Virginia under the direction of Grammy Award winning conductor, Dr. Jeffrey Redding. Congratulations singers!
National Honor Choir Ensembles
Three members of the Woodson Chorus were selected to National Honor Choir Ensembles. Auditions are submitted from across all fifty states, pre-screened by their directors, and evaluated by a panel of judges. Thousands of applications were submitted. Congratulations go to the following choristers: Allison MacDonald selected to the SSAA Grade 8-10 Chorus, Charlotte Reymann selected to the SATB 11-12 Grade Chorus, and Serena Mancuso selected to the SATB 11-12 Grade Vocal Jazz Ensemble. The singers will travel to Dallas, TX March 19 -22, 2025.
All-District Volleyball Selections
Congratulations to the following Woodson Volleyball athletes who have earned All District accolade's:
Sofie Ferrell - 1st Team
Livia Lee - 1st Team & Libero of the Year
Carleigh Orr - 2nd Team
Addi Guerra - Honorable Mention
All-Region Girls Cross Country Selections
- Keira Arenholz
- Monika Lukas
- Hadley Vanek
- Madeleine Devlin
- Eleanor Wolf
- Camille Lichtenstein
- Anna Strafford
Technica
Technica is the world’s largest hackathon for underrepresented genders, hosted annually by students at the University of Maryland.
Woodson student, Joelle Rice, had the opportunity to participate this year, along with over 800 other participants. She worked deligently for 48 hours to code a program called ModSpot from scratch. After giving a pitch, and being judged, she won Best Startup out of the entire competition!
Way to go, Joelle!
Orchestra Recognitions
Virginia Senior Regional Orchestra Selections
Morgan Altier, bass
Audrey Kan, violin
Sahn Kim, violin
Kai McMurry, violin
James Ngo, violin
Maya Smith, viola
Virginia Senior District Orchestra Selections
Audrey Cochran, violin
Isaac Lee, violin
Rebecca Kim, violin
Siyona Kolelveetil, violin
Jacob Lee, viola
Nico Lee, violin
Kristina Lundblad, bass
Emily Pan, violin
Illia Shestiuk, violin
Mark Sunahara, viola
Clive Song, violin
Beth Williams, viola
Sunny Wang, cello
2024 Metropolitan Live Classical Music Festival Winner
Josh Gwon, violin, 1st Place in the Senior Division and Best Performer for strings
2023-2024
Woodson Chorus A Cappella Attends Carnegie Hall
At the start of spring break, some members of the Woodson Chorus A Cappella had the distinct honor of working with and performing at Carnegie Hall with Deke Sharon. Deke is most famously known as the composer of the vocal music for the Pitch Perfect movie franchise. Performers came from across the globe including the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Woodson Chorus was the only public high school represented. The students received the invitation to perform after the organizers heard us through our YouTube channel.
Congratulations to the following students for representing Woodson on such a prestigious and global stage: Carson Fenner, Emma Fig, Theo Hanna, Jonah Hilbert, Sarah Hymans, Bailey Libby, Anya Malaveetil, Charlotte Reymann, Brandon Spratt, Brielle Steeves, and Claire Warden.
Summer Residential Governor's School
Congratulations to the following Woodson students that were accepted into the Residential Governor's Schools:
Visual and Performing Arts -
- Aiden Brennan
- Dariya Lukashuk
- James Ngo
Agriculture -
- Amy Cung
- Nicolas Tong
Humanities -
- Lily Eng
- Bridget Bushman
Engineering -
- Jared Jessup
Math, Science and Technology -
- Austin Song
- Mia Monroe
Woodson Student Wins 2024 National Merit Corporate-Sponsored Scholarship
Congratulations to Woodson student, Nathaniel Kurland! He was one of seven FCPS students to be awarded corporate-sponsored scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The students are part of a group of more than 770 National Merit finalists chosen to receive scholarships financed by corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. See the full list of student winners with their probable career fields.
Boys Tennis Singles and Doubles Champions
Congratulations to Ryan Battaglia and Marek Raynal Kosecky for clinching the Boys Tennis Doubles District Champion title! Ryan also took home the Singles Champion title!
Woodson Diver Heading to US Diving Olympic Team Trials
Congratulations to Woodson student and dive team member Nathaniel Grannis! Nathaniel received an invitation to compete at the US Diving Olympic Team Trials in the 3m synchro event. Best of luck, Nathaniel!
Region Affiliate Gold Award from NCWIT
Our students continue to excel and give back. This month, Rida Karim received the prestigious Region Affiliate Gold Award from NCWIT Aspirations in Computing.
Leading for Tomorrow's Innovation
Tiffany Park captivated a room full of business and educational leaders at the "Leading for Tomorrow’s Innovation" event. She was recognized for her presentation within FCPS Superintendent Dr. Reid's Sunday employee email round up for the week. Way to go, Tiffany, for making your mark!
Shark Tank Assistive Technology Challenge
Two of our students, Mayu Zuñiga and Logan Lee, were awarded 2nd place in the 2024 Technology Challenge Shark Tank for their accessibility mobile app, Odyssey. Odyssey helps individuals find venues with wheelchair-accessible entrances by providing comprehensive information about the accessibility of nearby locations.
Boys Dive
Congratulations to Nathaniel Grannis for placing 1st in the VHSL State Dive finals on Wednesday, February 14th.
Congratulations to Nathaniel Grannis for placing 1st in the Patriot District Dive Finals
OneAct "The Elephant Man"
Congratulations to Woodson OneAct. Out of the top four acting awards for VHSL States, Silas Blocker and Lucas Bickford took home two of them, and the team as a whole placed 3rd. Way to go!
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Another title for Woodson Theatre OneAct and "The Elephant Man". Occoquan Region Champions!
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Mr. Rushing and his student cast took home the Patriot District One Act Champion title! The production was "The Elephant Man" and Woodson's Silas Blocker was selected as Best Actor.
Wrestling Patriot Districts
Congrats to the following Wrestlers for placing in the Patriot District finals. On to Regionals!
- 113- Scott Cockrell- placed 6th
- 120- Royce Carroll- placed 4th
- 126- Gavin Downer- placed 4th
- 132- Carlos Ramirez- placed 4th
- 138- Michael Mendoza- placed 4th
- 144- Ochirdari Otgonbaatar- placed 6th
- 157- Mateo Torres- placed 5th
- 215- Rafael Pena- placed 2nd
- HWT- Bryan Urrutia Romero- placed 3rd
Science Olympiad
Congratulations Woodson Science Olympiad Teams and Sponsor Ellen Babcock! On Saturday Feb 3rd Woodson Science Olympiad competed in two separate tournaments. Team Europa attended the Princeton University Invitational and placed 8th. Two Teams attended the Fairfax High School Invitational and Team Io placed 2nd and Team Callisto placed 11th.
Science Olympiad is a competitive science program where teams of 15 students compete in 23 different events in all fields of science and engineering in a one day competition that is exciting, fun, grueling, challenging and immensely rewarding.
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UPDATE:
Congratulations to the Woodson Science Olympiad Team Europa for placing 1st out of 31 teams at their Regional Tournament on Saturday Feb 24th. We are also very proud of Team Io for placing 5th and Team Callisto for placing 9th! In total the team members earned 32 medals for individual team members, and the team as a whole earned one really big trophy for their coach!
Next stop States on April 6th at UVA! Grind back on!!!
Woodson Science and Engineering Fair
Woodson Science Fair winners 2024
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will advance to the Regional Science Fair in March. Congratulations!
Behavioral and Social Science
Place | Student | Project |
1 | Annette Paik | Unhealthy Food Consumption is the driver of Non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mortality in the United States |
Macrobiology
Place | Student(s) | Project |
1 | Quan Huynh, Marek Raynal | A Model of Risk for Cesarean Delivery Based On Maternal Comorbidities |
2 | Kieran Langer | The Effect of Biological Sex on the Efficacy of Unisex Knee Braces in the Reduction of Meniscal Tears |
3 | Bella Osborn | The Effect of Sucrose Solution Withdrawal on Dugesia tigrina |
Microbiology
Place | Student(s) | Project |
1 | Valerie Gutierrez, Khadija Suwid, Saffron Tonko | Optimizing Protein Production in Precision Fermentation for the Production of Animal-Free Dairy |
1 | Camille Jo | Lactobacillus acidophils Concentration Effectivity |
3 | Riya Gonzales, Abigail Daniel, Delaney Fleming | The Effect of School Surfaces on Bacterial Load present on Phone Cases |
Computer Science
Place | Student | Project |
1 | Andrew Kim, Jamie Kim | Utilizing Remote Sensing and Deep Neural Networks to Predict Biochemical Oxygen Demand in the Chesapeake Bay |
Chemistry
Place | Student(s) | Project |
1 | Molly Hawkins | The Effect of Chemically Modified Spent Coffee Grounds on the Removal of Ionic Zinc from Water |
HM | Asiyah Williamson | The Effect of Added Solutes On The Amount of Ice Melted |
HM | Nadia Langer, Devin Nickerson, Audrey Cochran | The Effect of Simulated Acid Deposition on the Accelerated Corrosion of Different Types of Wood |
Environmental Science
Place | Student(s) | Project |
1 | Mia Ramos | The Effect of Aspergillus Oryzae on the Decomposition of Starch-Based Bioplastics |
1 | Joseph Tso | V-MODE: Virtualized Microgrids for Optimizing Distributed Energy |
3 | Maya Moses | The Effect of Different Species of Wood on the Effectiveness of Xylem Water Filters |
3 | Emma McRobbie | The Effectiveness of Retaining Wall Variations on Shoreline Preservation |
HM | James Kim, Indra Ranjan, Catherine Han | Ruminal Methane Production in Holstein Dairy Cattle as a Result of Feed Composition |
HM | Sarah Hymans, Elizabeth Kimura | The Effect of Passive Cooling Methods on Internal Building Temperature |
HM | Sarah Matson | The Effect of Mycorrhizal Fungi on Plant Growth in Two Soil Conditions |
HM | Khoa Nguyen, Mark Wentink | The Effect of Salt Concentration on Algae Growth |
Engineering
Place | Student(s) | Project |
1 | Matthew Lee, Benjamin Hall, Austin Cui | Designing an AI-guided Versatile Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aircraft for Wartime Humanitarian Aid |
2 | NJ Borders, Connor Geraghty | Deafblind Accessible Computers |
2 | Emma Cummings-Sulmistras | Translating Nervous Energy into Electricity |
HM | Peter Bierma, Ben Torbert, Colton Mayes | The Effect of Pollutants on their Detection by Laser Beams |
Physics
Place | Student(s) | Project |
1 | Nate Vailikit | Image Noise and Sub-Frame Length in Astrophotography |
2 | Miles Nousain | The Effect of the Transformer Core on the Average Total Harmonic Distortion |
2 | Joelle Rice | The Effect Of Wind Speed On Tennis Ball Trajectory |
Materials Science
Place | Student(s) | Project |
1 | Beatrice Kennedy | The Effect of Water on the Strength of Different Yarn Fibers |
2 | Stella Milam, Sophia Nguyen, Leah Lang | The Effect of Water Damage on the Strength of Woods of Different Densities |
2 | Wyatt Hadley | The Effect of Different Food Waste Products in a Biodegradable Plastic Alternative |
HM | Victoria Andreuzzi | Making plastic out of food |
Winter Athletic College Signing
Woodson held an Athletic College Signing on Thursday 2/8/24 - Congrats to Celia Dawson, Soliel Clifford, Will Collins, Colleen Read, Peter Phan, Aidan Dash, Jason Kim, Bryce Donovan, and Sean Donovan. Go Cavs!
Girls Dive
Congratulations to Taityn Speier for placing 5th at VHSL State Dive finals on Wednesday, February 14th!
All State Orchestra
We had 6 Orchestra students qualify for All State Orchestra! The concert will be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Saturday, April 20th @ 11am.
All State Participants:
Violin: James Ngo, Nathan Kurland, Isaac Kim, Josh Gwon, Sahn Kim
Bass: Zoe Eng
Southern Region SATB Youth Honor Chorus
Congratulations to Sarea Manson, Carson Fenner, Kirsten Lunsford, and Serena Mancuso! Sarea and Carson will be representing Woodson in the Southern Region SATB Youth Honor Chorus. Kirsten and Serena will represent Woodson in the Southern Region SSAA Honor Chorus. Students were selected by audition from thousands of applicants across thirteen states. The honor choirs rehearse in Louisville, KY February 21-24 with a culminating performance at the end of the weekend. Congratulations to our singers!
All-VA Chorus
Congratulations to the Following All-VA Delegates from Woodson Chorus!
Sarah Hymans - Soprano 1 - SSAA Chorus
Brielle Steeves - Alto 1 - SSAA Chorus
Allie MacDonald - Alto 1- SATB Chorus
Laiken Caldwell - Alto 1 - SSAA Chorus
Chiara Sale - Alto 2 - SSAA Chorus
Lucca Zamora-Soon - Alto 2 - SATB Chorus
Aiden Brennan - Tenor 1 - SATB Chorus
Joaquin Najar - Tenor 2 - SATB Chorus
Congratulations to the following Alternate Delegates!
Claire Pocock - Soprano 2 - 1st Alternate
Alex Winkler - Alto 2 - 2nd Alternate
Lance Howden - Tenor 1 - 1st Alternate
Carson Fenner - Tenor 1 - 2nd Alternate
James Hunter - Tenor 2 - 1st Alternate
Brian Zheng - Bass 1 - 1st Alternate
Brandon Spratt - Bass 1 - 2nd Alternate
Deaf Academic Bowl
Woodson's Deaf Academic Bowl Team placed 2nd at Regionals which qualifies them for the National competition in April at Gallaudet University. Way to go Ryan Chelline, Karine Jelalian, Sonan Sahgal, Maggie Smallwood, Shan Pillai and Julie Clinch!
National Merit Finalists
The following Woodson Students have been named National Merit Finalist!
Abbey Moran |
Anahat Goraya |
Benjamin Hall |
Finnian Murphy |
Gemin Kim |
Joshua Park |
Nathaniel Kurland |
Seth Lifland |
Stephen Wolf |
William Ryman |
Zara Ramakdawala |
Zoe Eng |
Robotics
Woodson Robotics competed at the First Robotics Competition in Ashland, VA. The Team ended the event ranked 15 of 29 Teams. The team was also selected for the Innovation in Control Award for their design of the Robot Drive System.
“The Innovation in Control Award celebrates an innovative control system or application of control components - electrical, mechanical, or software - to provide unique machine functions. This team endeavored to simplify the lives of their drivers. Utilizing a robust custom drive train and employing LED’s to signal note possession, the drivers on this team effortlessly navigated the forge of the competition. Congratulations Team 8590!”
DECA Leadership Conference
Twenty Woodson Marketing students traveled to Virginia Beach on Friday, March 1 for a weekend filled with competitive events, networking, and professional development. The DECA State Leadership Conference provides students with the opportunity to compete against the top talent in the state in categories focused on a variety of industries, including Marketing, Management, Hospitality & Tourism, Finance, and Entrepreneurship. Examples of event categories are linked below.
Special recognition goes to the following students for their achievements at the conference:
- An Duong and Brianna Nguyen, Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making, 7th Place Overall
- Matthew Hiu, Hospitality Services Team Decision Making, Top 10 exam score
- Grace Degrandez-Mamani, Principles of Hospitality and Tourism, Top 10 role play score
An and Brianna qualified for the 2024 International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California. This conference hosts over 20,000 DECA members, advisors, and business partners for four days at the end of April.
For more information about how your child can be involved with DECA and Marketing and Entrepreneurship classes at Woodson, please contact Kelsey Treague at @email.
Regional Science Fair
The Regional Science Fair took place on Sunday, March 17th. We had three Grand Prize Nominees and one Grand Prize Winner! Almost every Woodson project placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in its Category, which is amazing. 16 of our 33 students won a cash prize, and many others earned scholarships, certificates of merit, and other various honors. Congratulations to these students on their outstanding achievements!
Student Name | Category | Project Title | Place | Grand Prize |
Isabella Osborn | Animal and Behavioral Sciences | The Effects of Sucrose Solution Withdrawal on Dugesia tigrina Distance Traveled | 2nd Place | |
Annette Paik | Biomedical and Health Sciences | Unhealthy Food Consumption is a Driver of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Mortality in the U.S. | 3rd Place | |
Quan Huynh, Marek Raynal | Biomedical and Health Sciences | A Model of Risk for Cesarean Delivery Based on Maternal Comorbidities | 1st Place | |
Camille Jo | Biomedical and Health Sciences | Lactobacillus acidophilus Concentration Effectivity | 3rd Place | |
Molly Hawkins | Chemistry | The Effect of Chemically Modified SCGs on the Removal of Zinc from Water | 1st Place | |
Maya Moses | Earth and Environmental Sciences | Wood Species and Water Purification: The Effect of Species of Wood on Xylem Water Filters | 1st Place | Grand Prize Nominee |
Jamie Kim, Andrew Kim | Earth and Environmental Sciences | Utilizing Remote Sensing and Deep Neural Networks to Predict Biochemical Oxygen Demand in the Chesapeake Bay | 1st Place | |
Emma McRobbie | Earth and Environmental Sciences | The Effectiveness of Retaining Wall Variations on Shoreline Preservation | 2nd Place | |
Joseph Tso | Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design | V-MODE: Virtualized Microgrids for Optimizing Distributed Energy | 1st Place | Grand Prize Nominee |
Emma Cummings-Sulmistras | Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design | Translating Nervous Energy into Electricity | 3rd Place | |
Austin Cui, Benjamin Hall, Matthew Lee | Engineering Technology | Designing an AI-Guided Ultra Versatile Unmanned Aircraft for Wartime Humanitarian Aid | 1st Place | Grand Prize Winner |
NJ Borders, Connor Geraghty | Engineering Technology | Deafblind Accessible Computers | 2nd Place | |
Mia Ramos | Environmental Engineering | Effect of Aspergillus oryzae on Decomposition of Starch-Based Bioplastics | 2nd Place | |
Wyatt Hadley | Materials Science | The Effect of Different Food Waste Products in a Biodegradable Plastic Alternative | 3rd Place | |
Leah Lang, Stella Milam, Sophia Nguyen | Materials Science | The Effect of Water Damage on the Strength of Different Species of Wood | 3rd Place | |
Beatrice Kennedy | Materials Science | The Effect of Water on the Strength of Different Yarn Fibers | 3rd Place | |
Nathan Vailikit | Physics and Astronomy | Image Noise and Sub-Exposure Length in Astrophotography | 1st Place | Grand Prize Nominee |
Miles Nousain | Physics and Astronomy | The Effect of the Transformer Core on the Average Total Harmonic Distortion | 3rd Place | |
Joelle Rice | Physics and Astronomy | The Effect Of Wind Speed On Tennis Ball Trajectory | HM |
Woodson Mock Trial Team
Congratulations to Woodson’s Mock Trial Team who competed last weekend in the Virginia State Championships in Richmond, Virginia. Our team of nine dedicated students utilized creativity, intelligence, and vigor to attack a complicated fact pattern, conflicting witness statements, complex evidentiary rules, and the challenges of courtroom procedures in four full mock trials against extremely talented competition. Based on the scoring of real attorneys and collegiate mock trial competitors, our team won two of four mock trials and was ranked as the 10th best team in Virginia. This is Woodson’s highest finish in the State Championships since 2019. Well done! Our Mock Trial Team: Taraneh Doust, Sarah Courtney, Chance Jones, Meredith Phipps, Josie Owens, Jazzy Singh, Franchesca Douchine, Ceyda Bayraktar, and Aritak Waisi.
2023 District Leadership Conference
Congratulations to the following students who have qualified to represent Woodson at the State Leadership Conference in March 2024 at Virginia Beach.
Student | Event Category | Placement |
Patrick Conklin | Human Resource Management | 1st Place Overall 1st Place Role Play 1st Place Test |
David Freeman | Business Services Marketing | 1st Place Overall 1st Place Role Play |
Aadith Kugarajah | Business Finance Series | 1st Place Overall 1st Place Role Play 1st Place Test |
Valerie Gutierrez | Business Services Marketing | 2nd Place Overall 1st Place Test |
Grace Degrandez | Principles of Hospitality and Tourism | 3rd Place Overall |
Joseph Burvis | Human Resource Management | 3rd Place Overall 3rd Place Role Play 3rd Place Test |
Pierce Keo-Yann | Entrepreneurship Series | 3rd Place Overall 2nd Place Test |
Gavin Coker | Automotive Services Marketing Series | 3rd Place Overall 3rd Place Role Play 2nd Place Test |
An Duong | Retail Merchandising | 4th Place Overall 3rd Place Test |
Maximillian McNutt | Business Services Marketing | 4th Place Overall 2nd Place Role Play |
Madisen Blanchard | Restaurant and Food Service Management | 4th Place Overall |
Elsa Curry | Apparel & Accessories Marketing Series | 4th Place Overall 3rd Place Test |
Parnika Urs | Principles of Marketing | 1st Place Test (non-qualifier) |
Athletic National Signing Day
Athletic College Signing Day was 11/8 - Currently, 13 Woodson athletes have committed to playing sports at the next level. Congrats to Andrew Perks, Bryce Donovan, Sean Donovan, Ellie Vander Ploeg Fallon, Julia Oleyar, Reese Cuviello, Eva Lennon, Ella Mathias, Maddie Gaboury, Claire Warden, Taityn Speier, Maura Fay, and Nora Gilmer. Go Cavs!
Class 6 All-State Field Hockey Team
The Virginia High School League announces its 2023 Class 6 all-state field hockey team. The all-state field hockey team consists of five forwards, five midfielders, five defenders, and one goalkeeper. Only those players selected to the all-region first-team are eligible for selection to the all-state team. The all-state selection committee comprises eight coaches, with two from each region.
Congratulations to the following Woodson Field Hockey athletes who were selected:
- Julia Oleyar - Midfielder
- Reese Cuviello - Defender
- Kelby Lennen - Defender
Class 6 All-State Volleyball Team
The Virginia High School League announces its 2023 Class 6 All-State volleyball team. The all-state volleyball team consists of nine position players and one libero. Only those players selected to the all-region first-team are eligible for selection to the all-state team. The all-state selection committee comprises eight coaches, with two from each region.
Congratulations to the following Woodson Volleyball athlete who was selected for First Team:
- Maura Fay
Congratulations to the following Woodson Volleyball athlete who was selected for Second Team:
- Emma Gardner
ACDA Southern Region Honors Choir
Congratulations to 4 Woodson students for their selection into the ACDA Southern Region Honors Choir. These students were chosen out of thousands of applications across the Southern Region. Congratulations to Sarea Manson and Carson Fenner for selection to the 7-9 SATB Choir and to Serena Mancuso and Kirsten Lunsford for their selection to the 10-12 SSAA Choir! They will be performing in February in Louisville, KY.
ESports VHSL State Champions!
Congratulations to our Rocket League Esports team for taking home the State title, again! Coach Kuykendall, Coach Shu and team members Greysen Berg, Andrew Wong, Connor Lane, and Chance Clayville.
Virginia Mathematics League
Students with a Perfect Score:
- Keira C.
- Kuber G.
- Thomas G.
- Enzo H
- Quan H
- Dan N.
- Son T.
High Scoring Students - Cumulative:
- Kuber G.
- Thomas G.
- Son T.
- Enzo H.
- Quan H.
- Andre M.
- Dan N.
- Evan H.
- Nicholas V.
High Scoring Schools:
- McLean HS
- Woodson HS
- Longfellow MS
All-District Band
The Woodson Band had 43 students earn a spot All-District Band after a competitive audition, the most of any school in our district. We even had seven students earn first place on their instrument, a huge accomplishment! A huge congratulations to the following students:
Top Band
Natalie Jiang – 1st Flute
Kyle Fernandez – 2nd Flute
Yeeun Kwak – 7th Flute
Luke Sun – 1st Oboe
Maya Moses – 4th Oboe
Jack Day – 4th Bassoon
Andrei Sabula – 1st Clarinet
Joanna Chappell – 3rd Clarinet
Jordan Hershaft – 4th Clarinet
Jameson Kim – 11th Clarinet
Teresa Nguyen – 19th Clarinet
Marta Scully Bristol – 21st Clarinet
Logan Lee – 22nd Clarinet
Abbey Moran – 23rd Clarinet
Natalie Cradler – 3rd Bass Clarinet
Grant Kahler – 1st Alto Saxophone
Levi Thompson-Guldseth – 3rd Alto Saxophone
Nate Vailikit – 1st Baritone Saxophone
Ian Ahn – 4th F Horn
Joseph Tso – 3rd Trombone
Jake Spector – 6th Trombone
Benjamin Fitch – 3rd Euphonium
Gabe Eib – 1st Tuba
Second Band
Julie MacDonald – 1st Piccolo
Patrick Lee – 4th Flute
Ein Lee – 10th Flute
Lilian Cochran – 4th Oboe
Maya Pendleton – 2nd Bassoon
Kai Foster – 3rd Clarinet
Sophia Ho - 7th Clarinet
Hannah Fensterer – 15th Clarinet
Drew Green – 17th Clarinet
Andrew Liang – 2nd Bass Clarinet
Donovan Tran – 2nd Alto Saxophone
James Kahler – 3rd Alto Saxophone
Niko Francis – 2nd Tenor Saxophone
Mayu Zuniga – 10th Trumpet
Kaylee Bryson – 4th Horn
Ralph Morton – 8th Horn
Callum Keller – 1st Bass Trombone
Eamon Girard – 2nd Tuba
Noah Ran – 3rd Tuba
Autumn Silverman – 6th Tuba
Alternates
Scarlett Aubrey – 2nd Alternate Oboe
Isaiah Pereira – 2nd Alternate Bass Clarinet
Model UN - Outstanding Small Delegation Award
Woodson Model UN traveled to Yale University and brought home the Outstanding Small Delegation Award out of 200 schools from over 50 countries!
Julia Victor - Best Delegate
Ben Kralovec - Best Delegate
Rida Karim- Outstanding Delegate
Miranda Baxter - Outstanding Delegate
Cara King - Honorable Mention
Myra Jain - Honorable Mention
Sam Abbruzzese - Honorable Mention
2024 USAS Virginia Air Rifle Junior Olympics State Champion
The 2024 USAS VIRGINIA AIR Rifle Junior Olympics State Competition (JOSC) kicked off on January 13th. Ben Hays once again demonstrated his mastery of accuracy and time. He scored 596 for 60 shots (56/60 shots were 10s) in standing position and won the 2024 gold medal. Congratulations Captain Ben!
Improv Team
Woodson’s Improv Team took first place from among 10 FCPS High Schools at Herndon on January 12th!
This is the second time Woodson has taken first out of the four competitions this year. Way to go!
Model Judiciary Club
Two of Woodson’s Model Judiciary Club’s competitive Mock Trial Teams competed in a regional competition last weekend against several schools. The mock trials were judged by attorneys, judges, or experienced national mock trial competitors. Each team conducted three separate trials against outstanding competitors. Based on the scoring of the judges, both teams finished in the top 10. Congratulations on a fantastic effort and performance! Special kudos to Woodson’s Crimson Mock Trial Team that was ranked 2nd in the region and earned a bid to the State Championship in Richmond that will be conducted March 15-17.
Girls Swim & Dive - Patriot District Champions
Congratulations to Girls Swim and Dive for placing 1st on Friday at the Patriot District Finals.
Senior Regional Orchestra Audition Results
These auditions combine three districts into a region and our region is the most competitive one in Virginia- this audition is often more difficult than the All-Virginia Auditions. Woodson is sending the second most number of students of any school in the region, which is made up of over 30 high schools.
Congratulations to the following Woodson students:
Violin I | Josh Gwon, Kai McMurry
Violin II | Sahn Kim , Nathen Kurland , Isaac Kim, James Ngo, Ethen Lee, Cosette Jo
Bass | Zoe Eng
Piccolo (Flute 3) | Natalie Jiang
Oboe 2 | Maya Moses
1st Oboe Alternate | Luke Sun
Bassoon 3 (Contra) | Jack Day
Tenor Saxophone | Grant Kahler
2nd F Horn Alternate | Ian Ahn
Principal Percussion | Josh Park
2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge Winner
Woodson 9th Grade student, Heman Bekele, wins the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge with Skin Cancer Treating Soap. Congratulations, Heman!
https://www.fcps.edu/news/americas-top-young-scientist-heman-bekele-was-born-ethiopia-educated-fcps
New Members to the Woodson Chapter of the National Honor Society
Ruth | Abebe |
Kaleb | Abeye |
Binisha | Adhikari |
Mustafa | Akbary |
Charles | Allen |
Diya | Antony |
Keira | Arenholz |
Sophie | Atiyeh |
Caroline | Avera |
Hailey | Bacharach |
Ceyda | Bayraktar |
Natalie | Borders |
Theo | Burke |
Laiken | Caldwell |
Claire | Campion |
Sarah | Champagne |
Kaitlin | Chang |
Aidan | Cheon |
Makayla | Childs |
Kate | Chiriboga |
Suah | Choi |
Alexander | Choi |
Sophia | Clark |
Isabel | Conklin |
Drew | Connell |
Sebastian | Cora |
Sean | Cranford |
Milla | Cronin |
Emma | Cummings-Sulmistras |
Elsa | Curry |
Niyati | Dave |
Celia | Dawson |
Anastasia | DeCarlo |
Grace | Degrandez |
Nilce | Demir |
Madeleine | Devlin |
Donovan | Edwards |
Zain | Elcock |
Samantha | Eldred |
Lily | Eng |
Ezekiel | Estabillo |
Grace | Ewalt |
Lucas | Ezana |
Hannah | Fabrycky |
Maya | Fenner |
Emma | Fig |
Benjamin | Fitch |
Maeve | Foglio |
Claire | Frantz |
Emma | Frantz |
Connor | Geraghty |
Addison | Guerra |
Dag | Guessford |
Katherine | Guevara |
Thomas | Guo |
Luke | Han |
Bethany | Han |
Saanvi | Handa |
Grace | Hartley |
Margaret | Hoehn |
Alexander | Howard |
Catherine | Hunter |
Jibran | Hutchins |
Alex | Huynh |
Christopher | Hwang |
Audrey | Indyk |
Leah | James |
Adrianna | Jarz |
Jared | Jessup |
Camille | Jo |
William | Johnson |
Audrey | Kanesaka |
Devon | Ke |
Andrew | Kee |
Samantha | Kelly |
Maia | Kim |
Elizabeth | Kimura |
Katherine | Klein |
Abigail | Kleinman |
Garek | Kramer |
Aadith | Kugarajah |
Riya | Kumaran |
Shambhavi | Kumaran |
Ein | Lee |
Nicole | Lee |
Keira | Lee |
Juhe | Lee |
Victoria | Lennon |
Phillip | Levi |
Tyler | Lim |
Isaac | Lima |
Kristina | Liu |
Hannah | Lloyd |
Monika | Lukas |
Kirsten | Lunsford |
Hannah | Lunsford |
Serena | Mancuso |
Maria | Mankarious |
Bianca | Mata |
John | Mazur |
Mia | Monroe |
Demi | Montes |
John | Moreth |
Lauren | Moreth |
Thomas | Mun |
Dylan | Nguyen |
Evi | Nguyen |
Isabella | Nguyen |
Lien | Nguyen |
Anthony | Nguyen |
Andrew | Nguyen |
Eva | Nguyen |
Megan | Nguyen |
Danielle | Nguyen-Vu |
Farris | Ousman |
Anderson | Pardini |
Emily | Park |
Ruby | Persky |
WynSon | Phan |
Mason | Pilch |
Tyler | Plath |
Claire | Pocock |
Emily | Powers |
Addison | Prichard |
Kevin | Read |
Felicity | Redmond |
Kara | Reuther |
William | Reynolds |
Raymond | Rivera |
Sophia | Robertory |
Anuki | Rodrigo |
Hiroko | Rose |
Katherine | Saladino |
Oziofu | Sanni |
Kendall | Schottler |
Max | Schulman |
Marta | Scully-Bristol |
Sara | Shahbazi |
Mara | Sharp |
Jenna | Sharp |
Alyx | Sheridan |
Gavyn | Smith |
Nicholas | Smith |
Ghazal | Soroori |
Frances | Spar |
Jacob | Spector |
Sean | Stark |
Chaz | Stephens |
Andrew | Sung |
Khadija | Suwid |
Emily | Tao |
William | Taylor |
Abigail | Thompson |
Jade | Thompson |
Levi | Thompson-Guldseth |
Jenna | Tieu |
Saffron | Tonko |
Crystal | Tran |
Ellie | Troth |
Naranzul | Uuganbayar |
Vivian | Vu |
Ziad | Wanna |
Cooper | Whitestone |
Beth | Williams |
Eleanor | Wolf |
Victoria | Wood |
Carissa | Yu |
Jieming | Zhang |
Coed & Girls Golf
Last week Han Lee participated in the Virginia State High School League golf championships in Harrisonburg, VA. Han posted a 75 (+5) and finished tied for 11th out of 60 golfers from across the state.
Emma Fleming and Aurora Yoo earned spots and played in the Women’s Zone Qualifier at Twin Lakes. Aurora finished with an 80 (+8) on the Lakes Course to tie for 7th place out of 68 golfers and earned a spot in next Tuesday’s Women’s state golf championship.
Congrats to Aurora Yoo who finished in 5th place at the Virginia High School League Women’s State Golf Championship held at Twin Lakes Golf Club. Aurora posted a 73 (+1) and finished in a three way tie for 5th place out of 38 golfers from across the state.
Commended Scholars from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation
Avila Ang |
Seth Blumenthal |
Joseph Burvis |
Laiken Caldwell |
Rebecca Caswell |
Joanna Chappell |
Julianne Dee |
Hien Do |
Miriam Fabrycky |
Mia Fanshaw |
Sebastian Freemyer |
Kevin Ge |
Thomas Guo |
Jordan Hershaft |
Sophia Huh |
Christopher Hwang |
Samuel Indyk |
Cosette Jo |
Grant Kahler |
Jonah Kan |
Haley Kim |
Joseph Kim |
Patrick Lee |
Kyle Lin |
Oliver Lunn |
Binit Maharjan |
Andre Mao |
Boram Min |
Oscar Persky |
Anh Phan |
William Pierce |
Sean Rade |
Vedik Reddy |
Andrei Sabula |
Thomas Seely |
Urav Tanna |
Phillip Truong |
Shira Underwood |
Julia Victor |
Jacob White |
Maximilian Wu |
Girls and Boys Cross Country
Girls Cross Country - District Results
Keira Arenholz - 2nd place finish in the 2023 Patriot District Championship
Girl's Cross Country team won 1st place in the District Championship
Boys Cross Country - District Results
Jibran Hutchins - 2nd place finish in the 2023 Patriot District Championship
Boy's Cross Country team finished in 3rd place in the District Championship
Girls Cross Country - Regional Results
The Girls Cross Country team took home 1st place in the Occoquan Region Championship! 1st time in Woodson school history! They will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th.
Keira Arenholz - 3rd place in Occoquan Region Championship. 2nd fastest time in Woodson history. Will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th.
Celia Dawson - 5th place in Occoquan Region Championship. 5th fastest time in Woodson history. Will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th.
Congrats to the following girls cross country athletes who also placed in the Occoquan Region Championship - Sarah Hymans (7th place), Monika Lukas (11th place), Hadley Vanek (14th place), Anna Strafford (16th place)
Boys Cross Country - Regional Results
Jibran Hutchins- 5th place in the Occoquan Region Championship - Will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th.
Volleyball
Congratulations to the following Varsity Volleyball athletes for their All District Honors:
1st Team All District: Maura Fay, Emma Gardner, Nora Gilmer, Stella Gilligan
1st Team All District: Sofie Ferrell
All District Honorable Mentions: Jessie Lynch, Cat Quigley, Livia Lee
2023 REGION CHAMPS!
Woodson Deaf Academic Bowl Team
Woodson participated in a screening test with Gallaudet University last week to be eligible to compete in regionals. There are 4 regions and only 20 teams are accepted per region. The Woodson Academic Bowl team earned a spot in the South region and will be traveling to the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf on February 23, 2024. Congratulations to Ryan Chelline, Sonan Sahgal, Maggie Smallwood, Karine Jelalian, and to Coaches Julie Clinch and Shan Pillai!
Virginia War Memorial’s 2023 Veterans Day Essay Contest Winner
Woodson 11th Grader, Mia Ramos, wrote the winning essay for the Virginia War Memorial's 2023 Veterans Day Essay Contest.
This contest was open to all Virginia middle and high school public, private or homeschooled students. She won a prize package through McDonalds of Richmond and Hampton Roads and will be reading her winning essay at the Commonwealth’s Veterans Day Ceremony held on November 10th. Congrats Mia!
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist
Two hundred sixty four Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students from 15 high schools have been named Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for 2024.
All Semifinalists are eligible to compete for 7,500 National Merit Scholarship awards worth nearly $28 million, to be awarded in spring 2024. Semifinalists advance to finalist standing in the competition by meeting high academic standards and other requirements including a recommendation from a high school official.
Woodson High School 2024 National Merit Semifinalists are:
Zoe Eng, Anahat Goraya, Benjamin Hall, Gemin Kim, Nathaniel Kurland, Seth Lifland, Abbey Moran, Finnian Murphy, Joshua Park, Zahra Ramakdawala, William Jacob Ryman, Stephen Wolf
2023 Virginia Senior Honor Choir
Congratulations to the following singers selected to the 2023 VA Senior Honor Choir: Jordan Hershaft, Chiara Sale, Brielle Steeves, Alyce Visioli. These students were selected after a rigorous audition process to represent Woodson in this ensemble. They will travel to Richmond, VA November 16-18 to rehearse and perform with other seniors from across the state and the Virginia Music Educators Conference.
Their choral teacher, Ms. Amy Moir, will also be performing at this event!
West Point Leadership and Ethics Conference
Congratulations to Stephen Wolf who was an essay winner for last years WPLEC (West Point Leadership & Ethics Conference). He has been invited to be part of their Classroom Facilitation Team for WPLEC 2024.